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Nsenene vending aboard plane leaves bitter taste
A video grab of a man filmed hawking grasshoppers aboard Dubai-bound Uganda Airlines plane at Entebbe Intentional Airport on November 26, 2021
What you need to know:
- Others questioned his packaging materials, which — they said — were not soft on the eye.
The man, seen in a viral video vending grasshoppers aboard a Dubai-bound Uganda Airlines plane, has said he is filled with remorse and shame.
Mr Paul Mubiru, 27, issued a statement on November 27 addressed to the country manager of the national carrier, saying he recorded the video “for comedy purposes, specifically TikTok deeds” and not “transactional gains.”
He also issued a video apology echoing the same remorse.
Grasshoppers, locally referred to as nsenene, are a common delicacy in Uganda.
In the recording, Mr Mubiru can be seen vending nsenene out of a big blue polythene bag to elated passengers on the plane.
One passenger joked that “olina okusasula omusolo gwa Uganda Airlines” (loosely translated as: you have to pay taxes to Uganda Airlines).
Unbothered, Mr Mubiru can be heard saying “guba mutwalo” (that will be Shs10,000).
The viral video attracted a lot of criticism from many online commentators, with a section wondering how staff could have just let Mr Mubiru conduct business in such an ambiance.
Others questioned his packaging materials, which — they said — were not soft on the eye.
The Works and Transport minister, Gen Katumba Wamala, later tweeted: “About the video making rounds on social media of someone vending Nsenene aboard @ UG-Airlines, I have spoken to the leadership of the airline to take action against the staff who were in-charge when this happened.”
Management of the national carrier also released a statement in which they said they had “picked lessons from the incident.”
The statement added that excitement on the plane was probably because nsenene “were not in plenty this season.”
It continued: “We are considering adding nsenene…to our menu for regional and international flights on request. This addition of nsenene on our menu will bring the Ugandan culture to the world.”
By adding nsenene to the menu of the airlines management reasoned the move would boost tourism marketing and the livelihood of people in the grasshopper value chain.
